The invention concerns a process for the aerobic biological break-down of substances having low water-solubility in an aqueous medium, and a new microorganism.
Processes for the aerobic break-down are generally known. For example, in wastewater purification, biological break-down of various substances occurs under aerobic conditions, whereby most of the soluble substances are adequately converted. In the case of substances having low water-solubility, however, there is the problem that in order to be broken down biologically, these must first be transferred into the aqueous phase before they can be absorbed and converted by organisms such as bacteria.
Solvents that enable break-down can be employed in order to improve the solubility of the substances to be broken down. These solvents are frequently organic compounds, which may under certain circumstances represent a significant source of environmental pollution. Thus the solvents must also be able to be broken down without leaving toxic residues and increasing the overall pollution effect.